VOA标准英语2013--DRC Army Advances in 4th Day of Battle

 

DRC Army Advances in 4th Day of Battle

The scene is a government army position at mid-afternoon Wednesday, just after the M23 had started targeting some nearby tanks.

"You men get forward," the sergeant¹ is shouting. "Where are you retreating for? Get in front of the tanks."

For a moment, there was a brief panic as mortar² bombs started falling, causing some casualties in a commando platoon.

"Take that man and get him out of here," an officer shouts, pointing to a soldier who has just been hit.

But the incoming fire seemed to be heavily outweighed³ by the army’s outgoing fire with tanks, artillery⁴ and helicopter gunships that pounded the rebel positions.

After an hour or more of shelling on both sides, the commandos moved forward following the tanks.

An intelligence officer said the unit had advanced 300 meters by mid-afternoon. That rate of progress may speed up if, as United Nations sources report, the rebels are running low on ammunition⁵.

The M23 is outmanned as well as outgunned, having only around 2,000 combatants, against an army that on paper numbers 100,000. Although the army faces many other armed groups, few of them support M23.

A civilian⁶, Jules Akili, who traveled through the M23 zone on Wednesday before crossing over to the government side, told VOA he saw hardly any M23 soldiers.

He says he traveled from Rutshuru Centre a distance of about 40 kilometers, and saw only five M23 soldiers along the route, which was guarded by M23 police.

The Congolese army’s recent successes have prompted euphoric scenes in Goma, with civilians⁷ waving leafy branches staging victory runs on the outskirts⁸ of town.

Tens of thousands of people displaced by fighting who are living in camps around Goma are hoping the army can defeat all the rebels so they can return to their homes.

Women at a displaced peoples camp say they would be very happy to see their villages liberated⁹ from the rebels, and are hopeful the army can do it.

A Congolese journalist told VOA five government soldiers were badly wounded on Wednesday, and a local journalist also was hurt.

On Tuesday, the government said 120 rebels had been killed in the fighting since Sunday, a claim that could not be independently verified

A United Nations source Wednesday evening said the army had pushed back an M23 counter attack and was still advancing.

1 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

2 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

3 outweighed   

v.在重量上超过( outweigh的过去式和过去分词 )；在重要性或价值方面超过

参考例句：

• This boxer outweighed by his opponent 20 pounds. 这个拳击选手体重比他的对手重20磅。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She outweighed me by ten pounds, and sometimes she knocked me down. 她的体重超过我十磅，有时竟把我撞倒。 来自百科语句

4 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

5 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

6 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

7 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

8 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

9 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。